Cricket - My childhood Friend

The final between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians may have got a response that might have satisfied the organizers. The BCCI and IPL officials were overwhelmed by the full capacity crowd at the Eden Gardens.
I could still see people in the class calling their friends to keep a track on the score. But as CSK lost the match, there was pale on the face of those, as if they have lost some dear ones.
But, does the game still have its old respect and vigour? I could still remember my childhood days when cricket was part of our life. From the riverbeds to the school grounds, it was cricket everywhere. The World Cup fixtures had a great importance than our final exam schedule. But as the match-fixing drama unfolded in the earlier part of this century, we felt a gap between cricket and us.
Cricket was not a part of our life and still young age bonds are hard to break. We still sat before the television sets and cheered for Team India. We got a pride with our knowledge in cricket, while we talk with our friends.
And then came the IPL, earlier the Indian Premier League and now the Indian Pathetic League, as noted by the Outlook magazine. It entered with a bang and was duly christened as the Mother of Entertainment. The organizers compared it with the football leagues. Fans who were earlier cheering for the nation had now switched over to cheering their regional team. The name of the teams evoked the passion and a new dose of regional chauvinism was fed to the fans. We couldn’t understand the need for the cheer-girls in the pavilion.
But the later editions of the league showed that partying was more important than playing the game. The late night parties after the matches were new to the land’s culture and of course to the game. Drugs and sex were offered and some journalists noted how the life of young cricketers is spoiled by these parties. But who is to take care? After all, this is entertainment!!
Lalit Modi was at his all-time high and earned the reputation that even politicians couldn’t. Allegations of match-fixing, rampant usage of drugs by players and more were thrown on IPL. Not mere allegations but the same were proved. The all-powerful BCCI and IPL safeguarded their league. Meanwhile internal rivalries saw the exodus of Lalit Modi to London.
And now in its sixth edition, IPL gets murkier. Players, including an international player, were arrested on allegations of spot-fixing. Earlier, we thought spot-fixing is just meant for Pakistani players alone. But we were wrong. But why should players who already earn in millions go for extra millions? The lust to make more money in a short time is the main reason, as pointed out by former players and others. When we tried to console ourself that this is just another episode in cricket, came the next shock.
Gurunath Meiyappan, the son-in-law of BCCI Chief Srinivasan and also the Principal of CSK, was also arrested. How could we forget that this same Srinivasan is the owner of CSK. Already loud cries are made for the resignation of Srinivasan from BCCI post. But the ‘holier than thou’ Srinivasan is not ready to give up. And we have the poor Chennai fans for his support. Its horrible to see some people saying that he was rounded up just because he is a Tamil. Can we be more sensible?
If Meiyappan is not guilty, why were efforts made to cover up his role with the CSK? Do we have the answer? And still we try to console ourself..this is just entertainment, why do we make a big fuss of this? Others come with their own explanation..see, betting is different from spot-fixing and Meiyappan is arrested just for betting. Ok..betting and spot-fixing are different but aren’t they inter-related?
All these just show the love we have for the game. The passions of the fans are exploited by unscrupulous organizers. May be in a month everyone may forget the episodes that unfolded in this IPL edition and we may be eagerly waiting for the next edition. But I am sure; cricket has certainly lost its place from the heart of many of the die-hard fans. The next time when we see a player stretching his legs, we may get suspicions in our mind. As for me my beloved childhood friend has moved away from me and I don’t think that I could have the same bond with him.